


Secret Meaning

by JaneGlen



Category: White Collar
Genre: Awesome Elizabeth Burke, But anyways can you imagine if June and El were friends outside of Neal?, But implications? What implications! We are Tired and just want nice things., Gen, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Race, Race is mentioned in the context of late 1900s nyc, including June
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-07 14:12:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15909873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneGlen/pseuds/JaneGlen
Summary: Elizabeth's life is kind of absurd. But that doesn't mean she isn't the absolute best at what she does.





	Secret Meaning

          Mozzie: Burke Premiere Events. I thought that company was a front for Peter.

          Elizabeth: Okay, not everything has a secret meaning.

          Mozzie: Ah, naïveté. So sweet. I bet you believe in the moon landing.

_Front Man_

* * *

 

Sometimes, El has to close her office door, sit in her favorite chair, and laugh until she cries. The absolute absurdity of her life is just too much for her to keep bottled up all the time. Her mother had warned her against getting too involved with Peter from the beginning, but El has always been a little bolder, a little pushier, a little more of a thrill-seeker than either of her parents.

Somehow, she doubts any of the three of them could have predicted what her life is now. She’s a successful business owner with two full-time employees, happily married to a respected FBI agent, on a first name basis with her husband’s CI and a handful of his associates, and has each and every one of them wrapped around her little finger.

Which, while that’s a lot to take in, what really gets to her is that, out of all of these brilliant, well-trained people, all of whom are very familiar with white collar crime, one way or another, exactly three of them know that she runs the tidiest fencing game in the City.

Despite not being in-the-know, it's the reason Mozzie likes her so much: kindred spirits, and all that. He's actually the one person that El's considered bringing into the fold in recent years, but she's certain it would get back to Peter if she did. For all his paranoia, Mozzie is really quite loose lipped around Neal, and Neal couldn't keep her secret from Peter if he tried.

Which is fine, really. Three people actively involved in her life knowing all the details of who she is is more than enough.

Yvonne and Nan, of course, have been working with her far longer than they’ve been working under the banner of Burke Premier Events, but June, June has known El longer than Peter has.

June and El’s mom were one of those pairs of friends that transcended race, back in days of bluesy jazz and smokey back-room poker games, when broken promises were vindicated, and everybody who was anybody knew which hands to shake and which to grease. The high-class underbelly of New York City in the 60s was a level playing field, really, for women of any color.

When El was born in ‘73, June was in the hallway, playing Texas Hold ‘Em. When El got her first bike without training wheels, June was there to clean up skinned knees and elbows. When El lifted her first wallet, June was two steps behind, drawing attention by being herself (fabulous, kind-hearted, beautiful), black and on the classy side of town. No one was looking at the sweet, innocent white girl. When El ran her first con, June was her sounding board, offering wisdom and wicked smiles in counter-point to El’s mother’s facts and nervous excitement.

By the time El was bundled into her freshman dorm, she knew every con, every lift, every code. She knew every step of the art trade, both legal and illicit. And she knew what part she liked best.

“Understand everything, El.” Her mother would say, “Understand every step, so you know what the work is worth, what the risk is, and what one must be capable of to complete it.”

“Chose one part, El.” June would add, “Chose one thing to be good at, and be the best.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this written for a while, intending to add more, but haven't. Upon rereading, I've decided it can stand on its own unless inspiration strikes. Unbeta'd, mistakes are mine. Also, if you're following me because of some of my other works....I'm so sorry. I promise I'm still working on them.  
> Thanks for reading!  
> (If you're a Leverage fan, let's just all agree that Peter's a blind fool when it comes to El, because Nate Ford is obvs her brother.)


End file.
